Radio Enters the 80s Rock Conversation: The American English on Ollie Wride's Charting Album
Four Self-Released Singles in 2024, Then a Place on an Album That Reached Number 49
Radio is the fifth release in the catalogue of The American English and the first to carry Ollie Wride‘s name beside the band’s. Released on 25 October 2024, it later became track four of Wride’s second album, The Pressure Point. That album reached number 49 on the UK Official Album Downloads Chart. The band, led by former Hey Monday drummer Pat McKenzie, splits its base between Miami and London.
The American English’s Radio sits in the playlist below with our synth rock, psychedelic and yacht rock picks, and The American English artist profile lists their other coverage. The single reached this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news desks. Press play on Radio first, then keep reading for the catalogue behind it.
The American English Built a Four-Single Catalogue in 2024, One Track at a Time, Before Radio
The run started on 16 February 2024 with Wherever My Love Takes You, a 4:44 single. Each release after that added one new song and carried the earlier ones with it. Hearts In The Right Place arrived on 22 March with two tracks, then Velvet Lotus on 3 May with three. Finally, Shanghai landed on 14 June with four. All four carry the band’s own copyright line.
The line-up is Pat McKenzie on drums, Ryan McKenzie on bass, JJ Tiberio on guitar and Ollie Wride on vocals. The band describe themselves as a US and UK act. McKenzie played drums for Hey Monday, the pop-punk band from West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2010 and 2011 and again in 2019. He replaced the band’s first drummer, Elliot James, after a UK headlining tour.
Wride, meanwhile, arrived with his own chart history. Born in the East Riding of Yorkshire in 1989, he co-wrote Never Stop, Running In The Night and Wild Ones for the 2016 FM-84 album Atlas. His debut solo album, Thanks in Advance, charted at 95 on the UK Official Album Downloads Chart in 2019.
Radio Moved The American English Onto M3 Recordings and an Ollie Wride Album That Reached Number 49
Radio changed the paperwork first. Spotify credits it to Ollie Wride and The American English, and the copyright line names M3 Recordings and Wride rather than the band. Wride signed with M3 in 2023, and the label was started by Matt Pinfield, Matt Malpass and Matt Holmes.
The song lists six writers: Wride, Josh Dally, Adam Sinclair, Matt Thomson, Max Graham and Colin Bennett. Wride, Sinclair, Thomson and Graham produced it. NewRetroWave then premiered the official video, filmed live at Cinepacks Studios, on YouTube on 1 November 2024. By late September 2026 it had passed 217,000 views.
Next, the song moved to an album. On 7 February 2025, Radio appeared as track four of The Pressure Point, Wride’s second album, now on Spotify. The album reached number 49 on the UK Official Album Downloads Chart and entered the UK iTunes top 100. His debut had charted at 95 six years earlier. For this desk, the move from 95 to 49 is the placement that matters. Wride then toured the UK and the US in support of the album through 2024 and 2025.
The American English Hold the 80s Rock Line After Radio With Three More Ollie Wride Singles
Measured from the NewRetroWave stream on Bandcamp, Radio runs at about 113 beats per minute for 4:23. The arrangement pulls back twice, at about the one-minute mark and again near 2:45. Each time, the band returns at full weight. It stops cold rather than fading.
The lyric follows someone stuck in a small town, spinning to the same old sound. The chorus hangs its hopes on a favourite song. Later, it sits up late every night, talking about how life keeps passing by, until a voice on the radio says there is still time. The middle eight then looks back on growing up with every show on air.
The credits held after that. Year Of The Snake followed on 10 October 2025, Ghost Of You on 30 January 2026 and Tokyo on 15 May 2026, the last with John Waugh. All three list The American English first and Ollie Wride second, under the band’s own copyright. The band say their next single, Sinking In The Suburbs, is due in the coming months.
For Listeners Who Follow David Bowie and George Michael
The band’s own notes put Wride’s voice in the company of David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and George Michael. Two of those names run through Wride’s own story. He has said he discovered music through Queen and Bowie. In March 2026, he also sang Bowie’s Let’s Dance with Boy George at The Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas. George Michael completes the set, and Radio takes the same 1980s approach of a strong lead vocal riding a hook-first arrangement.
From the RockCharts.News Curator Team: “Radio moves at about 113 beats per minute and sounds built for the radio it sings about. It is also the hinge of The American English catalogue: four singles before it, three after it, and Ollie Wride credited on every one since.”
Where to Hear The American English and Radio
Follow The American English on Spotify and Bandcamp, and watch the band on their YouTube channel. For news and releases, follow them on Instagram, TikTok, X and Facebook.
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